Tommy’s Honor, Bode Expands, Runway of Dreams L.A. Bound
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TOMMY’S HONOR: Tommy Hilfiger will be honored for his commitment to the fight against AIDS at amfAR’s inaugural Palm Beach event on March 5.
Sylvester Stallone will present Hilfiger with his award. Multi-Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera will headline the event, which will take place at the private home of Amy and John Phelan.
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Event chairs include Dee Hilfiger, Robert Kraft and Dana Blumberg, Omeed and Caroline Malik, Amy and John Phelan, and Stephen and Christine Schwarzman.
The open-air event will include a socially distanced cocktail reception, a seated dinner, a live auction of luxury experiences and contemporary art, and Aguilera’s performance. Singer and songwriter Parson James will also perform at the event.
The auction will include pieces from several contemporary artists including Harland Miller, Vaughn Spann, Jim Hodges, Jose Alvarez and Jim Lambie, among others. Some of the donated works include a large-scale painting from Spann’s Rainbow series, courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech and a triptych celebrating love by Miller, courtesy of the artist and White Cube Gallery.
AmfAR haș had support in Southern Florida since 1986 and has awarded over 90 grants, totaling $6 million, in the region.
Signature sponsors of the event are David Yurman and Aston Martin. — LISA LOCKWOOD
BODE EXPANDS: Emily Bode is preparing to plant some retail roots in Los Angeles.
The buzzy New York-based men’s designer will open a 3,200-square-foot store at 7007 Melrose Avenue next week. There will be a private event at the space on Feb. 10 and it will open to the public the following day.
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Although the designer is staying mum about the details of the store until the opening, it is likely to be similar to the one she opened on Hester Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 2019, which is a showcase for her collections created from repurposed textiles.
A real estate listing for the space said it is located between La Brea and Highland in “the heart of this pre-eminent showroom, gallery, restaurant and retail area adjacent to Hancock Park.” It was advertised as a “highly improved designer showroom space featuring bowed truss ceiling, concrete floors, brick walls, excellent frontage and signage and with parking in the rear off the alley.”
Although not exactly a hotbed of fashion retail, the location is close to where other men’s wear brands have stores, including Rick Owens, and is across from a popular comic book store and around the corner from the L.A. landmark Pink’s Hot Dogs. It’s also close to the up-and-coming Sycamore District, which has a cool vinyl store, the Tartine Bakery and other popular shops.
Bode launched her brand in 2016 and within two years, started making a name for herself as the first female designer to show during New York Fashion Week: Men’s. Her collections, which are informed by her New England roots and study of historical techniques, quickly garnered interest.
In 2020, she won the inaugural Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation from the Woolmark Co., along with its prize of 100,000 Australian dollars, and the prior year, was named Emerging Designer of the Year from the CFDA. She she has also been an LVMH Prize finalist.
She had said last year that L.A. and London were on her wish-list for future retail expansion. — JEAN E. PALMIERI
L.A. BOUND: Runway of Dreams Foundation is heading to Los Angeles.
Headquartered in New Jersey, the nonprofit, which works to foster inclusion in the fashion industry for people with disabilities, will unveil its debut L.A. runway show on March 8 at NeueHouse Studios in Hollywood.
Titled “A Fashion Revolution,” the presentation will feature creations by presenting sponsor Kohl’s, as well as Target, Zappos.com, JCPenney, Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive, No Limbits and Stride Rite. All retailers and brands will showcase adaptive clothing and footwear designs made for those with disabilities (details include use of magnetic buttons and Velcro, for ease).
“We committed back in 2018 to adding a city every year outside of New York Fashion Week,” said Mindy Scheier, who founded the organization in 2014.
Along with regularly presenting in New York, the show has previously expanded to Las Vegas and Miami to spread its message of inclusion and raise funds. Now the team is looking to L.A.
“We felt there was no better place to go than the West Coast to have a bicoastal approach,” Scheier went on. “And one of the things that we really love saying is that obviously Hollywood is the land of making dreams come true, and we couldn’t think of a better place to have a runway.”
A fashion designer by trade, Scheier is the mother of a child with muscular dystrophy, Oliver, she explained.
“We learned early on that he was really going to struggle with everyday tasks, one of which is the very thing I love more than anything and that’s getting dressed every day,” she said. “For Oliver, it was a daily reminder of what he could not do, like use buttons and zippers. When he was of full age, he wore sweatpants every day, until he was 8 years old. He came home one day and said, ‘Mom, I want to wear jeans like everyone else gets to wear.’”
His words inspired her to start the foundation.
“How upsetting that my 8-year-old had to remind me of the power of clothing and the fashion industry as it relates to your confidence level and self-esteem,” she added. “I couldn’t imagine how the almost 1 billion people on our planet, who have a disability, how they manage clothing challenges.”
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Runway of Dreams Foundation’s first show was held in 2016, featuring designs solely by Tommy Hilfiger. Looking forward, Scheier hopes to continue to add brands to the roster. Last year’s shows garnered about 5.2 billion views and impressions, noted Scheier — who also runs Gamut Management, a consulting and talent management company exclusively for people with disabilities. “That’s really making an impact.”
Following the L.A. show, featuring more than 60 models, the foundation will return to New York Fashion Week.
“We intend to grow exponentially, not only in our runway shows — and we’re really hoping to have a global imprint with our shows as well — but also with the direct connection to the pillars that we raise money for,” Scheier said of plans ahead. “There are the scholarship programs for students who are focusing on adaptive as their future, as well as our college club programs, which we are in over 17 universities across the country, as well as our wardrobe grant program, which I personally am very proud of, that grants money to individuals, families, organizations to be able to afford new adaptive clothing. No matter how affordable we get the product, there’s just always going to be a part of population that won’t be able to afford it due to medical necessities. We implemented this program to be able to solve that problem.” — RYMA CHIKHOUNE
CANDICE’S CAUSE: Candice Swanepoel, the model and founder of eco-lifestyle brand Tropic of C, is the face of a new eco-friendly denim collection, with a campaign set to debut on Feb. 2.
She’s wearing pieces from a five-piece capsule collection by DL1961, which has partnered with Recover on a sustainability initiative to create “the first high-performance circular jean.”
Recover is a material sciences company and producer of post-consumer waste cotton fiber.
Using recycled water and solar energy, the company breaks down old clothing and weaves it with eco-friendly tech fibers such as Tencel or Reprive (recycled polyester stretch fiber).
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“As a CEO and founder of her own fashion brand, Candice understands the importance of sustainable fashion. Her passion for the planet and aptitude to affect change make her the perfect partner for this collection,” said Sarah Ahmed, cofounder and chief creative officer of DL1961.
DL1961, which is based in New York, is known for its vertically integrated, sustainable manufacturing and green textiles. According to the company, every pair of DL1961 jeans is tracked by the Environmental Impact Measurement software by Jeanologia, and made using eco-fibers, optimized water, energy and resource-saving technologies.
The company said the average pair of DL1961 jeans uses less than 10 gallons of water during production compared with standard jeans, which use 1,500 gallons of water to produce. The company said it uses botanic fibers, organic and certified cotton, clean dyes and energy-efficient machinery to preserve resources.
As a result of the Recover partnership, DL1961 also houses one of the world’s largest textile recycling plants, which takes excess goods from around the world, breaks them down and turns them into new, high-tech fibers.
DL1961 said Recover’s textiles “beat virgin equivalent fibers, conventional cotton and organic cotton across five impact categories: global warming potential; eutrophication (the mineral and nutrient enrichment of bodies of water); water scarcity; fossil fuel depletion, and chemistry.
DL1961 Recover styles range in size from 23 to 34, with prices running from $199 to $209. — SAMANTHA CONTI
JOINING THE ROSTER: United Talent Agency has signed content creator Moti Ankari for worldwide representation in all areas.
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The agency continues to add influencers to its roster, aiming to help clients expand digital content and find new opportunities in fashion, as well as endorsements and branding.
UTA represents big names in content creation, including Emma Chamberlain, Bretman Rock, Rickey Thompson and the D’Amelio family. Most recently, the agency signed fashion and lifestyle influencer Nic Kaufmann, as reported by WWD. When it comes to the Hollywood stars, UTA represents Timothée Chalamet, Ben Stiller, Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba, Kevin Hart, Will Ferrell and Tiffany Haddish.
Born and raised in New York, Ankari studied advertising and marketing communication at the Fashion Institute of Technology, before entering the world of fashion. He began contributing to publications that include Glamour and Bloomberg Pursuits, as well as working for Jim Moore at GQ Magazine, helping to style the likes of Rami Malek and Nick Jonas.
In 2011, Ankari launched his blog The Metro Man, growing an audience. Now with about 300,000 followers across platforms (close to 200,000 are from Instagram), he’s worked with brands that include Dior, Armani, H&M and Paul Smith. A regular at fashion week, Ankari has been dressed and sat front row at shows for Tom Ford, Versace, Etro and Amiri.
Among his endeavors, Ankari is the cofounder of footwear brand Ankari Floruss, sold at Nordstrom. He also serves as ambassador for companies Evolution Fresh, Marriott Bonvoy and Express, and has partnered with Stella Artois, Ferrari, Verizon, The Ritz-Carlton and American Express. — R.C.
FIRST STORE: Power couple Ciara and Russell Wilson opened their first brick-and-mortar for The House of LR&C Wednesday in Seattle, which they call home.
“As we open the doors to our first store at The House of LR&C, we feel blessed to offer our customers a hands-on experience to understand and see our values of love, respect and care come to life,” Ciara told WWD.
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The House of LR&C showcases their three brands: men’s with Good Man Brand, women’s with LITA by Ciara and its gender-neutral line, Human Nation.
“[It’s] a big milestone for our team,” continued Ciara.
The 1,200-square-foot shop, located at 2616 NE Village Lane, is found at U Village, an outdoor shopping center.
“The opening of The House of LR&C’s first retail experience is due to the hard work, vision and dedication of the team led by Christine Day’s genius,” added Wilson, quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks. “Being able to open this location in Seattle, share this mission with the community and give people a place to meet all three of our fashion brands — Good Man Brand, LITA by Ciara and Human Nation — means a lot to us.”
Of the expansion, Day, cofounder and chief executive officer of The House of LR&C, explained: “We’re introducing our first store at The House of LR&C as a way to modernize the customer journey with a seamless omnichannel experience. We believe shopping in-store will always be a key part of the retail experience. We see smaller retail store footprint in size and number of stores will become the new normal to continue to meet our new and returning customers.”
The store features “flowcodes,” she went on, which “can be scanned by the customer to provide helpful information like background on clothing, sizing, and styling options while also allowing us the opportunity to learn more about our customers through data and insights.”
With a mission of “giving back,” just like its e-commerce, 3 percent of the store’s net revenue will be donated to Wilson’s and Ciara’s Why Not You Foundation, a Seattle-based nonprofit dedicated to education, children’s health and fighting poverty.
“On the partnership front, we recently launched collections from LITA by Ciara and Good Man Brand onto Revolve and Revolve Man, respectively, and continue to see great success with partners like Nordstrom and Kohl’s,” Day said. — R.C.
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